Jaroslav Hasek’s Portrayal of World
War I in The Good Soldier Svejk
Christian Mans
Prof. Stolarz
1
Jaroslav Hasek’s The Good Soldier Svejk is one of the few works that deals with World
War I in Eastern Europe. The book covers the journey of Svejk as he goes from humble dog
seller to volunteer soldier approaching the war front. Svejk’s journey takes him through the
Austro-Hungarian empire and into many difficult situations and bears witness to struggles the
Austro-Hungarian empire experienced as a result of the War. This paper will look at The Good
Soldier Svejk as it pertains to Ethnic tensions in the Austro-Hungarian empire, attitudes towards
the war based on nationality and class, the inner workings of the Austro-Hungarian military,
and civilian experience during the war, as well as looking at why Hasek chose Svejk for this
journey.
Hasek uses Svejk’s journey through the Austro-Hungarian lands during World War I to
display tensions between the Austrians, Hungarians, and Czechs. Throughout Svejk's travels, he
is exposed to tensions within the Austro-Hungarian empire. Some of these tensions arise
because of Svejk’s Czech nationality, putting him into conflict with Hungarians, and under the
derision of Austrians. The tension between Czech’s and Hungarians is prominently displayed,
and most notably brought to the forefront with the introduction of Sapper Vodicka. 1 He
harbours an unwavering hatred of the Hungarians, displayed in his retelling of a bar brawl with
a Hungarian troop, where he shouted out "Innocent or guilty, finish them off one by one!" 2
Vodicka displays how deep the enmity between the two ethnicities could be. He constantly
voices his hatred of the Hungarians and is quick to attack the reserve lieutenant.3 This attack
also shows how high the tensions are between the two groups, as some Hungarian hussars
1
Jaroslav Hasek, The Good Soldier Svejk (Great Britain: Penguin Books, 2016), 428.
Ibid., 429.
3
Ibid., 438.
2
2
immediately came to the defense of the lieutenant, and random passing by Czechs come to the
defense of Vodicka, both sides jumping into the fight despite not knowing its origins. 4 The
hatred comes not only from the Czech side, as is shown in the Hungarian newspaper reports of
the incident where the papers focused on Lieutenant Lukas as responsible for the ordeal. The
reports focused not on the man but on his nationality, considering him “depraved Czech
rabble”, and threatening all Czechs to stay in line or face severe consequences. 5 The final paper
condemns the Czech soldiers as known problems and reflects a perception of all Czech soldiers
as a problem just waiting to happen.6 These tensions affect the army even outside of Hungary,
with Hungarian soldiers ignoring Czech leadership and disregarding them.7
Another large display of ethnic tension can be seen in the suspicion of Austrian soldiers
about the loyalty of the Czech soldiers. This is most prominently seen with Svejk’s treatment
when he is detained as a Russian prisoner. Major Wolf brings these issues to the forefront as
soon as he is introduced and he calls Svejk away, mumbling about “Czech dogs” and thinking
about how treasonous the Czechs were.8 The Czech soldiers were commonly seen to be not as
good, especially so by the non-commissioned officers (N.C.O’s), as Lieutenant Lukas shows in
his philosophy that being a Czech was like having a secret membership that was best left
unmentioned.9 He focused on speaking German and writing German in order to make him
indistinguishable from the other N.C.O’s.10 throughout the book, Hasek shows a view of Czechs
4
Ibid., 439.
Ibid., 444, 445.
6
Ibid., 446.
7
Ibid., 697.
8
Ibid., 804.
9
Ibid., 199.
10
Ibid., 198.
5
3
as lesser than others in the Austro-Hungarian empire and being treated as lesser. A good
example of this attitude is Dauerling and his treatment of Czech soldiers, and his belief that
Czech was not suitable for the army, instead all soldiers should speak German.11 This attitude is
pervasive to even the highest elements of the Austrian society, as Hasek includes a letter from
the Archduke decrying a Czech regiment that had abandoned the Austro-Hungary army, while
simultaneously attacking every Czech soldier.12Hasek also displays some Czech animosity to the
Austrians, most notably in the teacher's poem about lice, decrying the state of affairs of the war
and how the leadership is handling it.13 Hasek uses Svejk’s journey to display an empire that is
united yet separated and rife with ethnic tensions that at times threaten cohesion and often
created animosity.
Hasek includes many different perspectives during Svejk’s journey, portraying different
attitudes towards the war. Svejk’s meeting with an average Czech soldier in the barracks
displays a pessimistic view of the war expecting it to end in disaster, disgruntled with the favour
being shown to Germany over the homeland; seeing more hope in abandoning Austria-Hungary
in favour of Russia, because of the inabilities of the monarchy.14 Other soldiers just see the
hopelessness of the War, a cycle of death and slaughter, where men are just cattle to be lead
off to their death.15 Men like one-year volunteer Merek who espoused his views of the war as a
pointless effort in which the empire was bound to fail.16 There is also a separation between the
11
Ibid., 351.
Ibid., 533-534.
13
Ibid., 454.
14
Ibid., 247.
15
Ibid., 184.
16
Ibid., 342.
12
4
commanders and the general soldiers over matters like Italy entering the War against the
Central Powers, with the commanders seeming less worried about the new development, while
the troops seem to take it as a more dire event.17
The civilians also had different views on the war, based on their connection to it and its effects
on their lives. Those with sympathies to soldiers in many different situations arise, such as the
man who gives Svejk some money in sympathy because he believes he is a deserter just like a
family member.18 The man at the train station chooses to support Svejk because he believes
that what he is doing is right and that their fighting men deserve to be treated well.19 Baroness
von Botzenheim portrays a similar care, coming to Svejk with many presents as a thank you for
his exuberant patriotism, displaying the upper classes devotion to the war effort, and belief in
the bravery of the many volunteers.20 The different classes had different takes on the War, with
lower class people like the tramp willing to help subvert it by helping Svejk to doge away from
the gendarmes.21 Others, like the hop merchant, dislike the war because of the damage that it
causes to economic prosperity, and the problems it causes to business and trade.22 The impact
of the War affects others in a moral standard, as Hasek displays with the lady from the
“Association of Gentlewomen for the Religious Education of troops”, and her shock and disgust
at the barbarism of the soldiers.23 Hasek includes many different perspectives on the War,
17
Ibid., 609, 615.
Ibid., 148.
19
Ibid., 272.
20
Ibid., 86.
21
Ibid., 292.
22
Ibid., 223.
23
Ibid., 185.
18
5
shaping their opinion based on their lives and the effect and magnitude that the war impacted
those lives.
Hasek uses Svejk’s travels through the war, and his interactions with many different
peoples of different status and rank to allow the reader to look at the organization of the
Austro-Hungarian military. Svejk himself provides a good example of the rank and file soldiers.
As a civilian recruit, he comes to the war having received a summons, but not having actively
trained.24 The army is divided by multiple factors, splitting commanding officers, and general
soldiers. Commanding forces were to be the driving force of the army. They were to be in
control of their regiment and to do their thinking for them; leaving soldiers to follow orders
without question, and without a will.25 Commanders were to keep their men in separation so
they respected the commanders and were willing to obey their orders unquestioningly.26 Yet,
this mentality comes more strongly from the full time commanding staff, which contrasts the
volunteer staff.27 The volunteer staff came from one-year civilian volunteers trained in order to
take commanding positions, thus making them closer to the volunteer soldiers.28 A connection
that could be broken if the commander failed to treat his troops as men, but instead saw them
as disposable troops.29
The command of the Austro-Hungarian military struggled with poor leadership and
hereditary placements. The highest positions of the command of the army suffered because the
24
Ibid., 66.
Ibid., 92.
26
Ibid., 265.
27
Ibid., 265.
28
Ibid., 342.
29
Ibid., 524.
25
6
men in charge were inadequate. Hasek shows this in his portrayal of Colonel Schroder, who
lacked experience and knowledge required for his placement.30 This problem is shown in the
presentation of Colonel Gerbich. Gerbich is presented as moving from command to command,
forced to change after incidents occur, incidents created from an injury that makes him unable
to lead in full capacity, a man left in command based on connections, yet unable to fulfill his
role’s requirements.31
This inadequate leadership made up of men that were not fully committed to the cause.
This led to men who lied and stole to stored up for themselves extra, so that they could benefit
in times of need, “salting away” supplies.32 Men who would calmly kill their captain at the first
chance they received, as Vodicka calmly tells of how they laughed after shooting down a
commanding officer.33
Just as the soldiers faced many difficulties in marching off to war, so too did the civilians
that they encountered. The closer that Svejk’s company gets to the front the worse it is for the
civilians. In the big cities, before Svejk leaves, the civilians are still in a good mood, bars are
doing well and alcohol is in fine supply.34 The struggle for the civilians becomes more
pronounced with the harsh control of the gendarmes being a major oppression to many. 35 The
war also served to disrupt the economic trade of many civilian businessmen, as the hop
merchant Mr. Wendler expressed to Lieutenant Lukas.36 As his journey goes on, Svejk even took
30
Ibid., 549, 556.
Ibid., 853.
32
Ibid., 631.
33
Ibid., 433.
34
Ibid., 123.
35
Ibid., 291.
36
Ibid., 223.
31
7
part in actions against civilians, with his theft of a chicken, displaying how quickly the burden of
requisition could come upon civilian populations.37 This burden becomes much more
substantial the closer the regiment got to the war front, where they experienced the effects of
distrust and dislike, being lied to by the Mayor of Liskoweic. 38 Liskoweic, having already faced
the effects of Russian requisition and now being forced to billet Austro-Hungarian soldiers, took
heavy tolls on remaining supplies.39 The invasiveness of these troops moving through, is so
costly, that even deep-seated hatred of the Russians turns to animosity for the AustroHungarian empire in the eyes of the Vicar of Liskoweic. Many of the surrounding peasantry, had
lost their homes and land and were unable to billet any soldiers due to the destruction of the
war.40
Along Svejk's journey, his regiment comes across a number of Jews, and leave them with vastly
different responses. Svejk encounters Jews first as salesmen, initially buying a bottle of cognac
for Captain Lukas from the illegal dealer in the station, as well as the cow salesman who conned
the regiment into buying his cow.41 Secondly, Svejk comes across the Jewish peoples as severely
persecuted minorities, being beaten, scorned, raped and abused.42 The war showed no
kindness to either soldier or civilian, but merely took its price and left suffering and destruction
in its wake.
37
Ibid., 649.
Ibid., 763.
39
Ibid., 762.
40
Ibid., 767.
41
Ibid., 681, 769.
42
Ibid., 859.
38
8
World War I was a brutal conflict that ravaged Eastern Europe, yet Hasek chooses Svejk
a bumbling fool to lead the readers on a journey throughout the conflict. He did this because of
the sheer stupidity with which Svejk approaches the war allowing the reader to grasp the
foolishness that the Austro-Hungarian empire approached the war with. Svejk approached the
war with a childlike ideology which allowed him to profess an undying loyalty to the empire,
despite many slights.43 Svejk foolishness brought out the worst part of the military
administration, and his simple honesty brought to the forefront the paranoia that Hasek
presents to the reader. The suspicion and paranoia is the catalyst for the beginning of the book,
as Svejk is dragged off to jail by Bretschneider for high treason, despite stating that he would
die for His Imperial Majesty. Svejk continued to discover a broken empire plagued with
paranoia, which subjected him to both a lunatic asylum and harsh treatment as a maligner.44
After his freedom from this ordeal Svejk comes into the company of Chaplain Otto Katz, and
shortly became promoted to his batman.45 Chaplain Otto Katz served to prove that even the
holiest of occupations can be corrupted, that greed and privilege in the army could be so easily
abused. Drinking excessively, forgetting his duties, and abusing his position to keep himself safe
from the front while sending so many off to fight at it.46 Otto represents the common pattern
that Hasek creates with his portrayal of Chaplains, having them be hopeless drunks, addicted to
alcohol. The senior Chaplain that Svejk met on the train showed himself to be a problem
because of his illegal actions in entering the prisoner van, yet high rank caused the corporal to
43
Ibid., 16, 84.
Ibid., 36, 82-83.
45
Ibid., 119.
46
Ibid., 107, 170.
44
9
allow him in against protocol.47 Svejk commented on this saying “All these Chaplains, never
mind whether they’re senior or junior, have the special gift from God of getting themselves
stinking drunk at every opportunity.”48 The last Chaplain that Svejk comes into contact with,
Martinec, maintained this love of drink, despite initially being an upright chaplain trying to
atone for the sins of his vicar.49 The officers club proved to be his undoing, as general Fink
successfully corrupted him with drink and women.50
Svejk's simple-mindedness and honesty allowed him to be a perfect target for the heightened
paranoia about spies. Along Svejk's adventures, he was considered a spy multiple times, owing
in part to his own foolish actions, but also the convoluted logic of various officers. It started
with the gendarmerie of Putim, who Svejk happened upon as he was trying to find
Budejovice.51 Svejk's simple-minded truthful nature allowed the gendarmerie to assume that he
had caught a spy. He assumed this based on Svejk’s interests and knowledge, yet as Svejk’s case
proved this was all conjecture.52 This kind of thinking returns near the end of Svejk’s tale, as he
was accused by Major Wolf. Wolf assumed that because Svejk could speak German that he
must be a spy. He proceeded to get Svejk to admit to putting on the uniform, confirming for
Wolf that Svejk must be one of the spies that he suspected were in the area, despite not having
found any other spies.53 Svejk's inability to speak in his defense allows the false accusations to
proceed onwards. This proves that part of the truth does not make the whole truth. The
47
Ibid., 375, 376.
Ibid., 376.
49
Ibid., 822.
50
Ibid., 824.
51
Ibid., 298.
52
Ibid., 302.
53
Ibid., 804.
48
10
accusations against Svejk give the reader a look at what many must have faced, being falsely
accused of spying with only circumstantial evidence.
Svejk’s foolishness meant that he spent parts of his journey in various gaol’s,
encountering other individuals who were in gaol for various reasons. He begins his journey by
being locked up at the police headquarters, where many were locked up for matters pertaining
to the assassination of the Archduke.54 Svejk’s next tale from prison came from when he was
placed in the Garrison jail. The jail had poor living conditions, poor food, and discipline met out
by Sergeant-Major Repa that involved breaking ribs, and other bodily harm.55 Past the Garrison
jail, Svejk finds himself in the dungeon of the Marianske barracks, where he meets one-year
volunteer Merek.56 Merek is interesting because he shows how far someone would be willing to
go in order to avoid the front. Merek tried desperately to get Rheumatism, V.D. and then finally
contracted muscular Rheumatism from an injection with a needle and syringe given to him by a
disabled soldier.57
These incidents show how Svejk was the perfect soldier for Hasek to choose. His
stupidity and simple-mindedness allowed him to get involved in so many different parts of the
war. Going in and out of jails, being batman to a chaplain and lieutenant, orderly for a
company, scout for the regiment. Svejk was able to get in and out of many ordeals and gave the
reader a satirized look at the serious problems that plagued the Austro-Hungarian empire in
World War I.
54
Ibid., 23.
Ibid., 114.
56
Ibid., 339.
57
Ibid., 340.
55
11
In conclusion, Jaroslav Hasek’s The Good Soldier Svejk provides readers a in-depth look
at the problems that plagued the Austro-Hungarian empire, during World War I. Hasek presents
the major problems that the empire in Svejk’s journey from Prague to the Front, displaying the
struggles of both civilians and troops, highlighting ethnic tensions that plagued the empire, and
a military command that struggled with divisions and poor leadership. Hasek satirizes the
events but still allows the reader to see how much destruction the war caused and how deeply
it impacted the lives of so many living in Eastern Europe.
12
Works Cited
1. Hasek, Jaroslav. The Good Soldier Svejk. Great Britain: Penguin Books, 2016.